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Gun Vault
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Gun Vault
GAU-8 30mm Gatling Gun
GAU-8 Gatlin Gun
The GAU-8(right) is the primary weapon used in the A-10. It can fire up to 4200 rounds per minute. The GAU-8 is capable of firing a
family of 30mm ammunition type, including High Explosive Incendiary and Armor Piercing Incendiary rounds.
The gun, which was to become the M-61(below), trailed the development of the M-39, but was ready for operation by 1956. The M-39
represented a substantial improvement over the .50-caliber. The M-39 delivers fifty percent more rate of fire than the
.50-caliber, but the M-61 delivers four times the number of rounds in the same amount of time. Equally important, the old machine
guns and the M-39 use a reciprocating motion whereas, the M-61 gained reliability in air-to-air operation by employing a rotary
motion.
M-39
The only aircraft to come close for the air superiority role in conventional warfare was the F-100, which came along too soon for
the M-61, therefore was equipped with four M-39s. The F-104 and F-105 were the first two planes equipped with the M-61 Gatling gun.
The F-4 was brought into the Air Force inventory for the air superiority role without a gun, but by the onset of the Vietnam War the
fighter employed the M-61 Gatling gun carried externally in the SUU-16 pod.
40mm Bofors Light Anti-Aircraft Gun
The 40mm Bofors Light Anti-Aircraft Gun(right), based on a Swedish design and built in Canada, served in a number of different theatres
during the Second World War. A derivative design is mounted on the AC-130 gunship, with a shortened barrel and a bell-shaped blast
deflector. A flexible hood closes the gun mechanism from the outside and allows for cabin pressurization. Starting in November 1969
gunships deployed in Vietnam had two 40mm guns in place of the two aft 20mm Vulcans which originally equiped these aircraft. By
1972 the aft 40mm was replaced by a fixed-mounted 105mm Howitzer on many aircraft.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 57 ft. 6 in.
Length: 53 ft. 4 in.
Height: 14 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 47,000 lbs.
Armament: One GAU-8/A 30mm Gatling gun and 16,000 lbs. of mixed ordnance
Engines: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans of 9,000 lbs. thrust each
Crew: One
Cost: $2,400,000
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 450 mph
Cruising speed: 335 mph
Range: 800 miles
Service ceiling: 44,200 ft.
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A-10 THUNDERBOLT II
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 38 ft. 10 in.
Length: 53 ft. 11 in. (with pitot boom extended); 47 ft. (with boom folded)
Height: 15 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 36,549 lbs. maximum
Armament: Four M39 20mm cannons and 42 2.75-inch rockets or 5,000 lbs. of bombs
Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J57-P-21 of 16,000 lbs. thrust with afterburner
Cost: $664,000
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 900 mph
Cruising speed: 600 mph
Range: 1,350 miles
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft.
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F-100 SUPER SABRE
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 21 ft. 11 in.
Length: 54 ft. 10 in.
Height: 13 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 27,853 lbs. maximum
Armament: One M-61 20mm cannon, two air-to-air missiles, nuclear or conventional bombs
Engine: One General Electric J-79 of 15,800 lbs. thrust (with afterburner)
Crew: One
Cost: $1,471,000
Serial number: 56-914
C/N: 383-1202
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 1,320 mph
cruising Speed: 575 mph
Range: 1,250 miles
Service ceiling: 58,000 ft.
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F-104 STARFIGHTER
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 34 ft. 11 in.
Length: 64 ft. 5 in.
Height: 19 ft. 8 in.
Weight: 52,838 lbs. maximum
Armament: One M61A1 Vulcan 20mm cannon and more than 12,000 lbs. of ordnance
Engine: One Pratt & Whitney J75-P-19W of 24,500 lbs thrust (with afterburner)
Cost: $2,136,668
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 1,390 mph
Cruising speed: 778 mph
Range: 2206 miles
Service ceiling: 51,000 ft.
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F-105 THUNDERCHIEF
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 38 ft. 5 in. (27 ft. 6 in. folded)
Length: 58 ft. 2 in.
Height: 16 ft. 6 in.
Weight: 58,000 lbs. loaded
Armament: Up to 16,000 lbs. of externally carried nuclear or conventional bombs, rockets, missiles or 20mm cannon pods in various combinations
Engines: Two General Electric J-79-GE-15s of 17,000 lbs thrust each (with afterburner)
Crew: Two
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 1,400 mph
Cruising speed: 590 mph
Range: 1,750 miles without aerial refueling
Service ceiling: 59,600 ft.
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F-4 PHANTOM II
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SPECIFICATIONS:
Span: 132 ft. 7 in.
Length: 96 ft. 10 in.
Weight: 124,200 lbs. maximum
Armament: Two 7.62 miniguns plus two 20mm and two 40mm cannon
Engines: Four Allison T-56-A-9D turboprops of 3,750 equivalent shaft hp each
Serial number: 54-1630
PERFORMANCE:
Maximum speed: 380 mph/330 knots
Cruising speed: 335 mph/291 knots
Range: 2,500 statute miles/2,172 nautical miles
Service ceiling: 33,000 ft.
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AC-130 Spectre
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